I saw this quote once that said, "She packed up her potential and all that she had learned, grabbed a cute pair of shoes and headed out to change a few things." Well I guess that's what I did! I'm living in a small, lovely town in Honduras teaching English for the next year, and here are my stories. I've thought of this more as an online journal, and less of entertainment for family and friends, but I hope you enjoy! Thanks for sharing with me in this adventure...

Monday, June 4, 2012

I love my Honduran family! Was blessed with a serenade phone call from Mari, then a serenade at church with lots of clapping and bright, beautiful smiles. There's this song all about giving thanks to God for such a wonderful life and blessing said wonderful life, and you can´t listen to it and not feel wonderful. Especially when the crowd is singing it to you!
In the morning on my birthday Maryann and I walked into town laughing and chatting all along the way. We saw my student Eric, his little sister Ericka and their nanny waiting for the bus. I didn't even have a chance to say hello before Eric was yelling, "Happy Birthday!!!" It was such a great birthday present :) Then I treated myself to some of Chevo's fresh-sliced mango, and un fresco de tamarindo to enjoy during our walk. When we got to Marvin and Doris' they surprised me with a birthday canteloupe. This birthday was full of sweet little surprises :) And when we got home Irene whipped up some pancakes!

cute little flower-shaped pancakes!

Our friend Natalie's birthday is April 2nd and Lisa and Gordon planned a surprise for her on the 1st. They were super sweet and had us both blow the candles out on the yummy Queen's cake they had for us. They even had a few presents for me! It was a really great day.

In one of the shirts Mrs. Cessna sent down with one of the teams--she sent a great birthday package!

Later in the week Eric's mom and dad had a party for me over at their house. It started early evening and went late into the night--almost 10pm is what Eric was claiming to the students on Monday! We had a great time chatting and relaxing. Eric and Rosemery (mom and dad) really went all out. They had a grill full of meat, avocados with chimol (yum yum yummy), a table FULL of all kinds of delicious fruit and the cutest little cupcakes. After dinner, cake and coffee we went inside and I had a great time talking with Rosemery for what turned into hours. We talked about favorite movies, different places we've traveled, hopes and dreams--all the fun stuff! I love seeing how my children interact with their family, and seeing how they are outside the classroom. And I really appreciate Rosemery's friendship. We have grown quite close this year, and plan to keep in touch over the years to come. I need to know the man their son grows to be!

Ericka runs up to give me hugs almost every morning at school, and she didn't want to leave my side during the party. She is way too cute.

She was definitely the most excited about the quequitos. She ran inside to show me the little cupcakes, and then Rosemery reminded her they were a surprise. I said, "Don't worry I didn't see anything!" and Ericka scolded me for lying!!!

The last day with the team was so much fun. We went to a town called Omoa, toured a famous castle and swam in the ocean all before lunch! It was quite the day. I think a lot of us were used to teams going shopping at the market in San Pedro Sula for their Saturday hoorah, but this was just so much better.

They used coral as some of the stone in the castle. This feels silly to admit, but I had no idea you could use coral to help build a structure! Of course I would later learn that the mayans used coral in their architecture as well, and it is really just something I should have known. But it was a fun new fact. And adds a very pretty element to the side of the old structure!

I learned that they exported all sorts of things from this castle, but he had me at chocolate :) I wonder what their kind of chocolate tasted like. I have enjoyed the fruit of a cacao tree, and the seed is so bitter most people just can't stand it. I know there is a drying and grinding process with the seeds, but then I assumed said powder is mixed with all sorts of things to create even the darkest of dark chocolates sold these days. Back then would they just sell it as powder?

The day before my birthday kicked off a stretch of special celebration for me. I know I'm "far away from home" and all, but I have really found family here, and they worked hard to make me feel incredibly special for my birthday! I kicked the day off with a trip to a nearby town to visit a student and her grandmother. They suffered some pretty difficult deaths in the family due to a fatal car crash, and my student missed a few weeks of school. Pastor Alfonso, Mari and I went to visit and pray with them, and we had a great visit. It was of course difficult, but a blessing for everyone involved. The following week my girl was back at class, and just today she was singing me different worship songs she'd learned from her cousin. We talked about practicing some more tomorrow, and you should have seen her skipping to her bus singing her new favorite song. Precious :) Ok so that was the morning of March 31, and a great way to start my birthday weekend!

Once we got back I stayed and visited with Mari for a while. Zenaida had invited the girls and I over for coffee and sweets, so Irene met me at Pastor Alfonso's to walk over together. I washed some clothes at Mari's, but hadn't had time to hang them to dry, so I toted a bag of wet clothes to put on the line at Zenaida's. Once we got to Zenaida's I walked down into the yard rather than climbing the steps to go into her house, and Irene was all perplexed about what I was doing. I reminded her about my laundry and said I was going to hang the clothes before going in...I remember she looked at me confused, but then said she'd see me inside. My response was that she could help me before we went in, but she pushed for me to just come in with her. Then I heard Zenaida calling out and telling me to come in for a minute. So in I go, laundry in tow, and I hear a great big SURPRISE!!! from my friends inside. They threw me a surprise birthday party! And got a great picture of me all kinds of surprised (sporting my laundry bag!)

They had quite the spread with a table full of veggies! Zenaida doesn't believe in broccoli, but she made an exception for my special day :) Then we hung out, drank some coffee, ate a good amount of CAKE and played with a children's puzzle toy. Zenaida and Jen take in children from time to time to try and get their nutrition back in check. We all appreciated Lesy sharing her toys for a couple hours.

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was greater than the risk it took to bloom. --Anais Nin

Faith is to believe that which you do not yet see; and the reward of this faith is to see that which you believe. --Saint Augustine of Hippo

Live today. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Just today. Inhabit your moments. Don't rent them out to tomorrow. --Jerry Spinelli

Be careful of your moods and feelings, for there is an unbroken connection between your feelings and your visible world. --Neville Goddard

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. --Albert Schweitzer

What we feel, think and do this moment influences both our present and the future in ways we may never know. Begin. Start right where you are. Consider your possibilities and find inspiration...to add more meaning and zest to your life. --Alexandra Stoddard

You may win the fight, because you're good [with words], but that doesn't make you right. --Beth Moore quoting her husband

God doesn't care if your thighs are getting chubby, that's just more of you to serve him. --Irene :)

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation. -- Isaiah 52:7

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and strainging forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. --Phil 3:12-16

It is one steady invasion, and [the cares of this world] will come in like a flood, unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise up the banner against it. --Oswald Chambers

Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. --Joshua 1:9

Like water be gentle and strong. Be gentle enough to follow the natural paths of the earth, and strong enough to rise up and reshape the world. --Brenda Peterson

When I slow down long enough to smell the roses, I usually see the beauty and all else that is ours to share. --Morgan Jennings

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. --Melody Beattie

Nature is a giver, a true friend and sustainer. --Yogi tea

Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. --Cicely Tyson

Every now and again take a good look at something not made with hands-a mountain, a star, the turn of a stream. There will come to you wisdom and patience and solace and, above all, the assurance that you are not alone in the world. --Sidney Lovett

Delight the world with your compassion, kindness and grace. --Yogi tea

The clever dolphin, in spite of tuna nets, seems to celebrate all day long. --Barbara Holland

Promise me you'll always remember: you're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. --Christoper Robin

Embrace the ordinary with enchantment. --Yola Perkins

The world is grand, awfully big and astonishingly beautiful, frequently thrilling. --Dorothy Kilgallen

If you want to keep your memories, you first have to live them. --Bob Dylan

Wake butterfly, it's late and we've miles to go together. --Basho

Always be pure, simple and honest. --Yogi tea

One never knows what each day is going to bring. The important thing is to be open and ready for it. --Henry Moore (1st quote I put on the fridge en la casa rosada :)

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. --John Burroughs

As you begin to pay attention to your own stories and what they say about you, you will enter into the exciting process of becoming, as you should be, the author of your own life, the creator of your own possibilities. --Mandy Aftel

Things I've Learned

The days of the week all end in 'day' ...which according to Eric means once it is nighttime it is Monnight, Tuesnight, Wedsnight etc.

I now have so many nicknames I wouldn´t know what to put on the back of a jersey. New favorite, coined by Pastor Alfonso´s sister-in-law: la grindia. The gringa who is apparently becoming more indio (native Honduran) every day. Gracias!

It´s hard not to join in when a small child erupts in joyous laughter.

You don´t have to be a registered nurse to help educate young mothers on caring for their families.

Hiking with your neighbors is great fun. Especially if they have a sweet baby, and energetic boys who love to make you laugh.

Yucca grows as the root of a tall bush or small tree, depending who you ask. Silly confession, but I always thought it grew almost like a carrot. You should see the earth around it move when you start to pull it out.

Second graders still give really good hugs.

The school day can be draining, but right now nothing beats afternoons with the girls. Snacking on fruit or something more dessertish, usually sipping some coffee and laughing chatting about all sorts of things.

Who says you can´t make a mango road food? Apparently you can peel them almost like a banana. A delicious discovery.

I've been described as "La Gringota" when someone couldn't place my name! What's disturbing: the person to whom he was explaining instantly made the connection!

You can now find brown rice at La Familia II which is walking distance from La Casa Rosada!!! The cashier had no idea what it was, but I made sure she knew how excited I was that they're carrying it, and how important it is that they continue to keep it on their shelves.

Sweet potatoes are cheaper by the pound than regular potatoes. I think that's just their way of showing they're all around better than the regular potato.

'Compost Happens' made it on a t-shirt. And said t-shirt made its way to a kind-faced Honduran woman. It would have been cool to take her picture, but I couldn't figure out how to tactfully ask.

The 7th graders are starting to learn to play the recorder, though they're calling it a flute, and the school yard sounds like a renaissance festival!

"Cohetes" which means rockets but refers to fire crackers, are incredibly popular this time of year. They sound alarmingly similar to firearms.

Pacaya is quite possibly the oddest vegetable I've ever been blessed with experiencing.

Tamale making is quite the process! And banana leaves stain your hands a funny color. But making tamales with Mari is a great way to spend a day!

You can buy a 6-mo old lamb for about 500 limpira. And I don't mean to take home as a pet, but skinned, drained and ready to quarter. If you're friendly enough you can meet lamby's family, or as I call them 'the ones who got away.'

The weather is unpredictable, which brings memories of Blacksburg, but the sun feels great on your skin in December. Sweet, warm sunshine.

Dude sporting the shirt saying "I'm the kid your parents warned you about" may not know what it means, but the look in his eyes made me wonder if it wasn't true.

Cinder blocks, firewood and a sheet of metal make up a surprising amount of the stoves I've seen. While they produce creamy, slow-cooked beans and deliciously smokey, crunchy tortillas, I can't imagine having to start a fire each time I wanted to cook.

It is cold in the mountains this time of year. It is also wet and muddy, but the views are spectacular and the people are ever friendly.

Before hitting a piñata you not only get blindfolded, you get spins for your age to the right and then again to the left. I guess I understand why adults don't have piñatas as commonly, but I still find them exciting.

There is a bakery in Santa Cruz with friendly owners and delicious orejitas.

Honey comb has an interesting, waxy consistency, but it makes for a fun snack when you need a sugar fix.

People decorate big, festive Christmas trees. They use big tufts of shiny ribbon, huge ornaments and other glittery adornments. They look so pretty with the twinkle of the lights. Some houses have their trees on the porch which makes evening walks even more fun.

I might be able to buy leafy greens from a local organic farm school. We should go ahead and celebrate the fact that a local organic farm school exists!

Mornings and evenings can get right chilly down here. My toes have turned to ice cubes on more than one occasion, and I find myself filled with desire for hot water.

There are rarely enough hours in the day.

Going months without a glass of wine helps you appreciate every last sip of that first glass.

They put their own twist on fruit cake, and it is pretty tasty. Like a spice cake with chunks of that strange candied fruit.

A student's parents have a restaurant on the lake and they make some good eats. Their view is incredible (lake, mountains, gaping sky) and the coffee rich.

Papaya purchasing is basically a crapshoot. You can't judge books by their covers, and you can't judge papayas by their rinds. Or peels, or whatever they're called...outsides!

Some sayings like "Lights, Camera, Action!" exist in Honduras. A shy-gal during show and tell had Cristian shouting (with hand motions!) "Luz, camera, accion!"

Tajadas aren't easy to come by in Guatemala, but the mojarra is riquisima.

I've made it clear how much I love chimol, and I really do appreciate the relative simplicity of Honduran food. But Puerto Rican sofrito is yumdiddly. Thanks, Angeles!

While my thankful list is growing and growing this year, it was rough missing my family's celebration.

Things like hot springs really do exist! And if you can make it through the sulfuric aroma they are pretty incredible. Especially when you're sharing the space with an elderly woman who looks as though she's finally relaxed after all these years.

There is power in prayer.

There's a reason I changed my eating habits and was feeling so great for so long in the States. My health would appreciate it if the same practices were respected no matter my address.

My Spanish is strong enough that I can pass more than an hour sharing funny and/or embarrassing stories with a group of Hondurans--an activity which is apparently common at get togethers around here. I don't miss cable.

There's something so calming about nature. Maybe it's realizing the miraculousness of it all and gaining new perspective on the world around us.

Every time you ease into a nice, hot shower it would be good to say a little thank you to whomever you believe in. Especially if the pressure is good and your towel is fluffy.

Subbing for first grade reading can be fun! Or am I the only one who likes to sound out words and blends? My kids can get "over it" a little too quickly for my liking, but (most of) these kids stayed with me the whole time!

Power outages can lead to some pretty blah breakfasts and packed lunches. In brighter news, snagging a little chimol from the cafeteria (thanks guys!) brings new life to your otherwise boring beans, avocado, tortillas and verduras crudas.

First year teaching can be rough, but I'm of course appreciative of all the lessons I am able to learn.

Exhaustedly writing blog posts, no matter how excited I am about the material, is apparently not a good idea. I just noticed lots o errors in a few posts, so please forgive my grammatical mishaps. And to think they let me teach!

The farm-fresh eggs I've been buying are from a hormone using hen farm :( What the flip. Soon after this discovery I met a woman with ground-pecking hens, who is going to sell me her eggs and they're actually a few limps less than the juiced up eggs!

Everyone loves a parade!

In early Septemeber a teary-eyed barroncito confessed to me that he couldn't read English. Here we are end of October and he about separated his shoulder anxiously volunteering to read aloud in class. Over, and over and over again. He even earned a sticker for his valiant efforts, and sparked a trend with a few other shy guys!

It really is true that if something is important enough you'll make time for it, and it's important not to lose sight of the fact that you hold the power to prioritize your day.

Lots of Hondurans toast their own coffee beans, and they toast them with pieces of dulce de caña...early Saturday morning walks to the market sometimes lead to gifts of bolsitas of a friend's home-toasted grinds. Que rico...

I find Sponge Bob just as annoying here as I did in the States. In tutoring we read a story about Jill and her dog Bob. E v e r y time we said Bob one of my gems would completely unnecessarily shout "Esponja!" (sponge) and it took great patience to maintain composure.

Manzanilla (chamomile) is a frequent gift from Doris, and I've started working cups of tea into my coffee rotation. Tea is good and all, but something about coffee leaves me so satisfecha.

A vegan family exists in Honduras! Right here in town actually. And they spent a good bit of years in Alexandria, VA. And the husband has a natural health center. AND he's willing to let me apprentice while I'm here! He also has mountain property, an orchard of fruit trees, the starting of an organic farm and a wife who loves to cook delicious vegetarian meals.

It is always good to keep one eye on the road when walking around town, as cars make drastic swerves to pass each other and dodge around pedestrians. This concentration can make for difficult multitasking. In Maryann's case, it is best to finish your cupcake inside the newly found bakery. Deciding to enjoy it while you walk, well that might lead to a face-down cupcake top, and a frown-inducing waste of deliciously tangy icing.

It always pays to know somebody who knows somebody. Especially when that somebody knows somebody who makes and sells ridiculously good hand-rolled corn tortillas.

Your students care about you just as much as you care about them. Like when you sound a little under the weather while you're teaching, and a sweetie tells you, "Teacher you really shouldn't come to school if your throat hurts." Thanks Angie, I'll keep that in mind next time!

Mandarinas can be face-squishing bitter (just ask Melvin Martinez!) or deliciously sweet. I tend to enjoy them either way, they seem to be in season now and Don Antonio loves to share.

Creative outlets like paint, paper, scissors, glitter and beads do wonders for stress relief and distractive therapy. They're also good tools for parent/child bonding in pre and post-op hospital salas de espera.

Lightning can be so bright it's almost blinding. The sky lights up over the mountains with a loud crack and electric flashes. Makes porch-sitting storm-watching so much fun.

Rain comes on fast and hard. It doesn't always last very long, and it brings this awesomely cool air with it. But it rains hard.

Trees around the lake are covered in parasites, but they add incredible character and make them look so pretty.

The Mexican at the market swears I look German. Seriously?

The way fog rises off the mountains is like something out of a movie. It makes them look even more 3D like you can see every nook and cranny.

Roosters don't save their crowing for daybreak. Kiri-kiri-kis (the honduran cock-a-doodle-doo) can be heard all hours of the day. The middle of the nighters are the most fun. I'm threatening to start eating chicken again.

Almost everything at the market tastes great with eggs--just ask them!

Ironically, I found out that lemons do not exist here. And what they call lemons are actually limes. What a fun discovery! So limes are green. But oranges don't turn orange. They still taste good!

Never assume that an orange should be orange or a lemon yellow. The orange trees in my yard bear green, delicious fruit. I heard lots of laughter when I pointed and asked how much for the limes. The vendor assures me they are lemons.

Wrapped around your leg hugs from lots of second graders do wonders for your morning.

Toilet paper should not be an expectation. If you're needy I'd keep some in your purse. Or think of it as the next step to going green?

Coffee beans get their best flavor when roasted in the sun. I see this process done most often with the beans shoveled over an area that doubles as a parking lot.

You can eat the fruit from coffee trees. The pit is a naked coffee bean, which comes out looking slimy and gross. The fruit is sweet though!

Lisa makes tasty pumpkin bread,

Breakfasts or packed lunches thrown together during a power outage are generally pretty blah. Sneak a little chimol from the cafeteria to mix in with your perfectly creamy avocado? Well that can make beans, tortillas and small chopped raw veggies taste fantastic!

First year teaching can be quite the struggle, but I am of course happy to be learning so many lessons.